DISORDERED SLEEP FACTS

Insomnia is the most commonly reported sleep problem, affecting more than 30 million people in the U.S. Its symptoms are difficulty initialing or maintaining sleep.

Restless Leg Syndrome and Periodic Limb Movement are neurological conditions affecting more than 6 million people. There is an irresistible urge to move the legs and in some the arms, trunk, head or neck. These conditions are two of the most common movement disorders and sleep disorders. They may be found in adolescents and teenagers but are more commonly found in older adults and females.

Narcolepsy is a rare disorder that causes extreme excessive daytime sleepiness. It affects approximately 3.9 percent of children through the elderly. One in every 500 drivers is estimated to be suffering from narcolepsy.

Parasomnias are also referred to as confused arousals. Upon awakening and feeling disoriented about time and space, this affects children three to four times more than the 3 percent of people 15 years and older who are affected.

Sleepwalking prevalence is higher in children. It is 38 percent higher in children whose parents are/were both sleep walkers.

There seems to be no gender or age difference in people who suffer from sleep terrors.

Nightmares often occur during the second half of a normal sleep period for children and adolescents and normally decrease with age.

Sleep-related eating disorders and sleep talking typically occur during the first 60 to 90 minutes of sleep. They affect 4 percent of adults and up to 17 percent of children.

SIDS is the sudden and unexpected death of infants less than 1 year old during sleep. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the third most common cause of infant death in the U.S. The latest studies show a 50 percent decrease in SIDS, now responsible for approximately 3,000 annual deaths.

Hyperactivity and aggressive behavior occur in 22% to 48% of children with obstructive sleep apnea.

The peak incidence of diagnosing OSA in children is between 2 to 5 years of age.

Children have a smaller airway despite treatment with adenoidectomy and tonsillectomy.

Snoring subjects have a five-fold increase in odds of reporting falling asleep during the day against their will.

The effect of obstructive sleep apnea is equivalent to five years of aging on psychomotor testing.

Some major risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) include male gender, obesity, large neck size, ethnicity and small jaws.

Patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can progress to severe OSA in one to two years.

A study conducted on 72,000 nurses reported that snoring alone increases the risk of developing high blood pressure.

Males have a two-to-three times greater likelihood of causing an accident due to disordered sleep.

Drivers under the age of 30 are involved in four times the number of fatigue- related accidents.

Shift workers are often sleep-deprived due to continually interrupted natural circadian cycles.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 100,000 annual car crashes in America are attributed to sleep disorders.

30 percent of commercial truck drivers suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, which not only affects their personal health but the resulting fatigue may contribute to the probable cause of 57 percent of crashes leading to a truck driver’s fatality.

For each commercial truck driver fatality, an additional three or four people are killed.

More than one-third of Americans have dozed off behind the wheel.

Fatigue, like alcohol or drugs, impairs judgment, slows reaction time and decreases awareness.